An Account of Sa-Go-Ye-Wat-Ha, or Red Jacket, and His People, 1750-1830 by Elbert Hubbard
page 33 of 265 (12%)
page 33 of 265 (12%)
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The general said he dreamed that Hendrick presented him with a certain piece of land which he described. It consisted of about five hundred acres, of the most valuable land in the Mohawk valley. Hendrick replied,--"It is yours;" but, shaking his head, said, "Sir William I will never dream with you again." [Footnote: Drake's Book of the Indians.] Sir William's large estate, the partiality of his countrymen, together with his military honors, and his great influence with the Indians, rendered him "as near a prince as anything the back-woods of America has witnessed." [Footnote: The expression of an English lady.--Turner.] He built two spacious and convenient residences on the Mohawk river, known as Johnson Castle and Johnson Hall. The Hall was his summer residence. Here he lived something like a sovereign, kept an excellent table for strangers and officers, whom the course of duty led into these wilds, and by confiding entirely in the Indians, and treating them with truth and justice, never yielding to solicitations once refused, they were taught to repose in him the utmost confidence. His personal popularity with the Indians, gave him an influence over them greater it is supposed, than any one of our own race has ever possessed. He was the first Englishman that contended successfully with French Indian diplomacy, as exercised by their governors, missionaries and traders. [Footnote: Turner's Phelps and Gorham Purchase.] Had he lived until the war of the Revolution, it is supposed by some he might have remained neutral, and have kept the Indians from engaging in |
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